Heyday on May Day!

The number one priority on the City of Omaha’s Transportation Master Plan is the Market to Midtown Connector.

The connector would convert Harney Street, from midtown to the Old Market, into a street that supports multiple modes of transportation, including biking and walking.

Derek Miller, Transportation Planner for the City, says there will be a special event celebrating the rollout of the transportation master plan called “Heyday on May Day.” Sarah Johnson, Manager of Greenstreet Bicycles and member of Mode Shift Omaha, says Miller initially suggested putting up some posters in a room as a means of unveiling the plan to the public.

Even though she’s a self-admitted transportation geek, Johnson says she was not excited about the idea.

"I said “Hey Derek, what if we close down the street and make it more of a party of sorts that happens to be educational?” and he’s on board."

Miller replies, "It was nice for us because most planning open houses for documents and projects we’ve had we don’t have a large contingency of advocates for us. And Sarah and others from Mode Shift kind of took the ball and ran with it. And it’s nice because it’s a community led event.”

Heyday on May Day takes place from 26th to 24th Street along Harney from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on May 1st. Some of the fun that day will include bicycle races, yoga and hula hooping.